


Extenuating Circumstances

by wesleyfanfiction_archivist



Category: Angel: the Series
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-01-17
Updated: 2004-03-13
Packaged: 2018-07-12 07:52:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7093225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wesleyfanfiction_archivist/pseuds/wesleyfanfiction_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cordelia accepts a case at a resort in S1... a GAY resort... ;) First fic, plz read and review</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Versaphile, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [WesleyFanfiction.net](http://fanlore.org/wiki/WesleyFanFiction.Net). Deciding that it needed to have a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in February 2016. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact the e-mail address on [WesleyFanfiction.net collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/wesleyfanfiction/profile).

Wesley and Angel were still fighting against the demon. As Angel was smacked aside like a child’s toy, a tentacle snagged itself around Wesley’s throat. Angel fell to the ground, and rolled, picking up a sword along the way.

Angel looked alarmed as Wes began to make vague choking noises. He desperately stuck the sword blade into the demon’s torso, watching as it finally collapsed. As the demon did so, it took Wesley down with it, just as the mortal slumped, knocked out.

Angel approached the demon, checking to make sure it was dead. Then, he hurried over to Wesley, and ripped the tentacle off of his throat, pulling Wes to himself as he did so, and listened carefully to see if he was still breathing. He was. Angel carefully examined Wes’ throat, to see if he was badly hurt. The man’s throat appeared to be bruised, and would probably be a pain when he came to. Absently, Angel’s fingers massaged Wesley’s throat as he waited for Wesley to wake up; it would ease the pain some, and keep the swelling down.

“Mm, Angel?” Wesley asked a few minutes later. Angel’s fingers stopped and he quickly moved away.

“Yeah, Wes. Are you okay?” A nod, then Wesley began coughing weakly. “Perhaps not… quite as well as… I thought.” Angel’s lips quirked in his hint of a smile, and asked, “Can you walk back to the office?” 

Wesley tried to rise, and succeeded for the moment. He was so determined looking that Angel resisted the urge to help him, and began walking.

Back at the office, Cordelia greeted the two of them, with a wide grin. “Hey, guys,” she dropped her voice to a low whisper, “How did the demon hunt go? Oh, and we have a client upstairs, but you might wanna…” she looked surreptitiously at the two, and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Angel looked at himself, then at Wes. Neither was really dressed to meet a client, covered in demon blood, and, in Wesley’s case, still wheezing slightly. “We’ll be up in a minute.” Angel said, and Cordy turned to leave. 

After Cordelia had gone upstairs, Angel grabbed Wesley, and dragged him into his room. As Wesley looked at him confusedly, Angel opened his wardrobe doors, pulling out two shirts. He held them up as proof of what he was up to, and Wes looked at him askance.

“We need to change out of our demon-covered shirts, Wesley.” Angel reminded Wes, with a hint of amusement in his voice. He then tossed him a black shirt, and Wes watched as Angel himself put on a dark crimson shirt, after tossing away his soiled black shirt.

“I’ll see you upstairs, okay?” Wes nodded, and began to slowly take his own shirt off. As he did, he inhaled sharply as he stretched still healing injuries from Faith. That had been about a week or two ago, and he was still feeling the aftereffects. Not even Angel or Cordy knew how badly he’d really gotten hurt.

After Wes changed, he went up the stairs quietly. He heard the quiet tones of Angel talking to an unknown person, whose voice sounded harsh, and Cordy’s excitement-contained voice.

“Now, you need us to do what?” Angel asked incredulously. Wesley entered, and saw Cordy grin sheepishly, as she admitted, “I already said we’d take the job, Angel. It sounds like he really needs our help.”

“Would you excuse us a minute?” Angel asked, and when the man who was apparently their client nodded, motioned for Cordy to follow him. The man watched uneasily, sensing their argument. They snagged Wes on their way into a back room, and closed the door behind them.

“Cordelia, haven’t you ever heard of the concept where ‘Honesty is a virtue’?” Angel exploded. Wesley looked at Cordelia, who looked defiant, as she shot back, “Well, we need the money, and it sounds like there is something for you to kill.”

“Cordy, we don’t… we can’t…” Angel stumbled. Wesley finally spoke up, and asked, “What is the case, Angel?”

“The guy in there is the owner of a resort. People have been disappearing there, and he wants us to look into it.” Angel said shortly.

“Angel, I don’t see why you need to yell at Cordelia for this,” Wesley said carefully. Angel shot him a glare, and demanded, “Cordy, tell him the rest of the case.”

Cordy once again looked sheepish, and smiled slowly. “Um, well, he runs a resort, but it’s kind of… a… gay resort. And I told Mr. Mills you and Angel were…” She smiled at him hopefully. Wesley just looked at her, his mouth hanging open.

“Cordelia, how could you lie like that?” Wesley finally asked a minute later. Angel still looked angry, but he seemed to be calming down.

“Um, he’s going to pay us a lot, and besides, it’s not like everyone doesn’t already think you two are…” She trailed off, at Wes’s glare. “Well, you are going to have to tell him that we can’t take the job.”

“You wouldn’t have to act gay,” Cordy said pressingly, pleadingly. “You just have to, like, hold hands and stuff.”

“Cordy, we don’t lie like this just to be accepted somewhere. We can’t just investigate with out having to act…?” Angel asked. Cordy shook her head, then said “No. They won’t buy it any other way. There has to be an excuse for you two being there.”

“Cordy, I believe that it does sound as if there is a demon there, but do we really have to act…” Wesley offered. “I mean, couldn’t we just be private investigators there to solve the case? And what about you?”

Cordelia smiled, “Well, you don’t really need me. I didn’t have a vision, so I don’t have to go. And this may take more than a day…” Angel and Wes exchanged wary looks, and Cordy’s grin widened.

“SO, you agree?”

When Angel hesitated, Cordy leaped out of her seat, and ran back out into the office. Angel looked at Wesley helplessly, as the two heard Cordelia effectively telling the client they accepted his case, and they would start whenever he wanted.

“Early next week will be fine.” Cordy ushered him out, and came back in a few minutes later, grinning from ear to ear.

“This is great! He’s going to pay us a lot, and you know, I’ll finally be able to buy that skirt.” She looked at them critically. “Now, I have to get you two to act well enough that people will think you are together.”

“Now, hold on, Cordelia. You said all we’d have to do…” Angel began. Cordy shot him a withering look, and shot back, “Yes, I know, but you have to look the part. Good thing I’m here to help you. I’m an actress, and can help you two out.” She smiled, and then looked at them, sitting at opposite ends of the room.

She glared at them, then said exasperatedly, “Here, get together now.” When neither Angel nor Wesley made a move, she gestured impatiently, and ordered in her Queen C voice, “Now.”

Meekly, Angel and Wesley began to move toward a couch in the middle, avoiding looking at each other. “Cordy, are you sure there’s no other way, or we can’t just tell him we changed our minds?” Angel asked helplessly.

“No. And besides, you guys are friends. It won’t matter, will it?” Angel and Wes now looked at each other cautiously, expressions showing nothing except their desire to be anywhere but here right now.

“Now, hold hands.” Another hesitation earned them another bit of Queen C wrath- “Do it already, and stop thinking about it.” Angel quickly grabbed Wesley’s hand in an impersonal way, and both men looked away. “This is gonna take some work.”

Cordy stepped over, and rearranged the two guy’s hands so they looked more couple-y. “Guy, am I going to have to do everything for you two?” She examined them, and saw they were far enough apart they could have had her seated between them. She looked Wesley in the eyes, and said, “Okay, now you move closer to Angel.” When Wes paused, she threatened, “The longer I have to spend here making you two do all this, the more unhappy I’ll be, and I’ll make sure you two are even more convincing.” 

Wesley moved next to Angel, and as if one read the other’s mind, Angel wrapped an arm around Wes’s shoulders, Wesley rested their entwined hands on his knee, and both grinned at Cordy, as if to say, ‘See, now are we done?’

“Okay… no. That looks totally… fake. Stop grinning, and just try to look… relaxed. More used to this.” Angel glared at her, and asked pleadingly, “Can’t we just be done for today?”

“An-gel… we need this to be convincing. He’s gonna pay us really well.”

“Cordy, I know we may need the money, but really. We have to act gay?” Wesley asked. “Well, everyone already thinks you two are…” Cordy whined.

“Again, we come back to, how does everyone think Wesley and I are… no offense.” Angel said quickly. Wesley hid his hurt look, as he assured Angel, “It’s quite all right.”

“Angel, come on. Work with me here.” Angel sighed, and Cordy knew she’d won. Now to work on Wesley…

“Wes, come on. You can do this, I know it. At least you won’t have to kiss Angel… we all know how badly you kiss. And-“

“HEY! I didn’t think I was quite that horrible.” Wesley interrupted, looking put out. Angel looked at Cordelia, and said quietly, “Enough, you two. We’ll do this, and get through it. Cordy, I think we’ve done enough practicing for one day.” He made a move to untangle himself from Wes, but stopped short when a voice came to them from the front office.

“Hey, you guys home?” David Nabitt’s cheerful face peered around the corner. He stepped into the office, and saw Angel, who still had an arm around Wesley.

“Oh, hey. I didn’t know you two were… but hey, I mean, that’s cool.” David babbled. Turning to Cordelia, he continued, “Hey, Cordy. Um, on Friday, I have this movie premiere. I was wondering if you’d like to go… as my date?”

Angel looked at Wesley, astounded, as Cordelia accepted, and the two talked it out. “I guess she wasn’t too far off, when she said everyone already thought we were…” He commented amusedly.

Wesley shifted under Angel’s arm, as if uncomfortable in the looks Cordy and David were now shooting their way. He tried to pull away, but almost as if Cordy had predicted this, she paused, turning his way, and shot him a ‘Don’t even think about it’ glare, and continued. Wesley fell back, and sighed.

“I know the feeling,” Angel said, trying to lighten the mood. No luck. “Okay, you two.” Cordy said. David had left without their noticing, and now Angel’s subdued look of horror was almost hysterical… if you weren’t Cordy.

“We fooled David, but that doesn’t really count.” She looked at the two critically, and sat on the edge of the sofa. She reached over, and pulled Angel’s arm more securely around Wes, and shoved the former Watcher closer to Angel, so that he was nearly, but not quite, held to Angel. Wesley still looked extremely uncomfortable, and Angel like he was wishing for a demon to come along right about then.

Luckily, just then, the phone rang, saving them from further scrutiny for the moment. As Cordy hurried to answer the phone, Angel looked over to Wesley.

“Hey, Wesley, are you going to be okay with this?” Angel asked the other man. Wes tilted his face to him, and answered in a measured tone, “Well, I suppose I will. It’s either do this, or face the wrath of Cordy.” He gave an exaggerated shudder when he noticed Cordelia looking their direction to make sure they hadn’t fled.

“No, the check is in the mail. I don’t know why you haven’t gotten that payment yet!” Cordy was saying, with a look that was nothing short of impatient. “Okay, well, you check, and get back to me if you can’t find it.” She hung up with an air of finality, then turned back to Angel and Wesley.

“Now, what had you all shuddery?” She asked Wesley suspiciously. Angel hid a grin while Wes answered with a straight face, “Nothing. I was just thinking of which type of demon we may be dealing with.”

Cordy bought it, and turned on her heel. “Well, I think that you two should be able to deal with it just fine.” Turning back, she scowled at the two of them. “You are allowed to stop now, if you want. Although,” she said, pausing the two in mid-act, “The facial expressions need some work. You look like you’re in Hell, or something.” 

Angel winced as he pulled away from Wesley, who stood up abruptly. Cordy caught Angel’s wince, and said, “Oh, sorry; I forgot you actually were in…” 

Angel held up a hand, and cut the girl off. “Okay, Cordelia. Thanks. Just… stop.” Angel quickly fled down the stairs.

Cordelia looked at Wesley, and smiled. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow. And, we’ll work more on your ‘relationship’” she held up her index fingers on either side of ‘relationship’ to air-quote the word, “with Angel.” Wesley grimaced slightly, and Cordelia caught it.

“Oh, come on, Wesley. Most people would love to act this way with Angel. I mean, yeah, he is kinda broody, but he has that whole ‘tall, dark, and handsome’ thing going on. And it’s Angel. You both know each other; it can’t be that bad.”

“Yes, but he is my employer, Cordelia. One usually does not act like this with their boss. At least, I hope not.”

Cordelia gripped her purse, and called out, “Bye!” as she spun out the door, as only Cordy could do.

A few moments later, as Wesley was pulling on his coat to leave, Wes started as a voice sounded right behind him.

“So, are you really going to be okay with this, Wesley?” Wes whirled around, to find that Angel had come back upstairs.

“Oh, er, Angel. I didn’t hear you come back up.” Wesley stammered. “I believe I’ll be fine with this, Angel. I… it is for the good of mankind, isn’t it?” Wesley offered weakly.

“Wesley?”

“Angel, it’s alright. I-I’m just not used to acting homosexual. I know Cordelia’s acquaintances somehow got the impression you and I were… but… this is new, and I need time to get used to it.” Angel nodded understandingly.

“Yeah, I can see that. I mean, no vampire doesn’t experiment… that… but, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” Wesley’s turn to nod.

“This… won’t affect our… friendship?” Wesley asked hesitantly. He sounded almost doubtful if they were friends.

“No, it won’t affect our friendship, Wes,” Angel assured Wesley. The other man looked startled for a moment, then grinned.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Wesley,” Angel said, as Wes shut the office door behind him.


	2. Part the Second

Part the second

The next morning, Angel heard a door slam upstairs, followed by- he listened for a moment- Cordelia’s footsteps. She was upstairs for a few moments, then Angel sighed as he heard her start the elevator down. He rolled out of bed, pulling on a pair of pants as he did so.

The elevator stopped just as Angel grabbed a shirt.

“Morning, Angel!” Cordelia said cheerfully. “Ready to practice some more on the case?” 

Angel raised one eyebrow, and said, “Cordelia, can we let it drop?”

“O-kay. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed…” Cordelia wandered off into the kitchen, and Angel sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“Angel?” Called another voice a few minutes later. Cordelia looked up from her coffee (which Angel was quietly refusing to drink) to see Wesley entering via the side door to Angel’s apartment.

“Good morning, all,” the ex-Watcher said cheerfully. He smiled slightly, and Cordelia looked at him strangely.

“What are you so cheerful about?”

“Cheerful? I’m not cheerful, I’m just…” Wesley trailed off, and gave up while he was ahead. "I had coffee this morning," he admitted sheepishly.

Angel looked at Wesley, and saw slight dark circles under his eyes. It looked as if the man hadn’t slept. Angel was about to mention that when Cordelia spoke up.

“So, are you two ready? We have two more days until you go off to that resort thingy.” Wesley looked panicked for a brief second, then shrugged.

“I suppose so. Er, Angel?” The vampire continued looking at the mortal, then shrugged. “I guess.” With that, Angel stood up, and stepped over to Wesley.

Angel reached Wesley, and gently put an arm around his waist. The human tensed, then forced himself to relax. Angel felt an arm hesitantly move itself around his own waist, and led Wesley to a couch. The two sat down, and Angel felt Wes tense up again, then move closer to Angel, leaning against him, while looking closely at Angel for signs of disapproval.

“See? Much better than yesterday,” Cordelia commented wryly. “Now, just stop looking so scared, Wesley, and relax. Angel’s not going to hurt you.”

“I know that,” Wesley shot back indignantly. “I’m not a child, Cordelia.” He began to sit up straighter to continue the argument, but Angel gently but firmly held him down with his right arm about the younger man’s shoulders. Wesley shot Angel an affronted look, then gave in.

 

A couple of days later, it was evening as Angel’s convertible rolled to a stop outside an expansive mansion. Angel parked, and he and Wesley emerged slowly, taking in the view of the huge, picturesque building. 

The resort was huge, and in the clear night above the city smog, Angel and Wesley could see tennis courts, pools, and various other country-club reminiscent activities sprawled across a huge expanse of fields. The very air was ‘rich people only’, like in expensive neighborhoods and country clubs, where everything is immaculate.

“Well, we’re here,” Wesley said unnecessarily, sounding a little nervous. Angel looked at him, expression unreadable as always, and listened as Wesley continued, “So, now I suppose we should get our things, and go inside?”

“Yeah,” Angel said. “You ready to do this?” Wesley looked steadily back, and nodded. “Let’s do this.”

 

Inside, in the lobby, Mr. Mills met the two. “Hello, Mr. Angel. And I don’t believe I’ve met your partner, Mister-?” Angel nodded toward Wesley, and introduced him.

“Oh, this is my… um, this is Wesley Wyndam-Pryce.” Mr. Mills smiled conspiratorially, and shook Wesley’s hand.

“Nice to meet you. Now, I’m going to show you two to your suite, and I can give you the details. It’s so nice of you to be able to take my case, and what a coincidence that the first agency I tried had a male couple, to fit in at…” As Mr. Mills led Angel and Wesley to an elevator in the exquisite lobby, he rambled on. He didn't notice his guests were absently tuning him out.

“Now, lately, people have been disappearing,” He said a few minutes later, as the three got out on the fourth floor. Angel picked up on the change in conversation, and elbowed Wesley. “In the past month, two men have disappeared, and one woman- um, there are both female and male couples here at this resort. So, they’ve disappeared, and there were notes found that they’d gone home. But, the oddest thing, they never showed up again, and their partners have called, asking us about it…”

Angel accepted the key to a room, and said, “We’ll start on the case tomorrow, Mr. Mills. We’ll see you then?” He smiled, and looked hopefully at Mills.

“Oh, alright,” Mr. Mills agreed, taking the hint. “It's late, and-- you’ll want time together…” the man quickly hurried off, and Wesley and Angel exchanged amused glances.

Angel unlocked the door, and swung it open to reveal a lavish room. There was a bathroom with a hot tub, a single large king-sized bed, as well as two comfy-looking chairs and a television set.

Angel looked around the room in awe, and asked quietly, “Which side do you want?”

“Beg pardon?” Wesley asked equally quietly.

“Which side of the bed do you want, Wesley?” Wesley walked over to a table, and set one of his bags down. He opened it, and checked his books, and replied, “I hardly think it matters, Angel- it’s a bed.”

Twenty minutes later, Angel was in the bed, wearing boxers and watching Wesley, who was at a table staring at one of his books.

“Wesley, I don’t think we really have anything to be researching yet…”

“Oh, but, ah, it never hurts to be prepared. I mean, we could be caught unawares at any moment…” Wesley said, looking slightly flustered. Angel raised an eyebrow, and Wesley sighed, closing his book. He turned off the desk light, and flipped the main switch to the room.

“All right. I’ll…” the slender man trailed off, and let the sentence hang. Angel nodded, and clicked off his bedside lamp. A few minutes later, Wesley came out of the bathroom, where he’d gone to change. 

All the lights were off, and Angel lay on his back as Wesley stumbled across the room in the dark. He heard Wesley find the bed, and clumsily climb in. The human pushed the covers back slightly as he climbed in, then relaxed. He lay as far to the side of the bed as he could without falling off or being on the floor.

 

The next morning, the sun crept slowly over the horizon, slipping silently over the floor towards the bed on Angel’s side. Neither of the bed’s occupants were waking until-

Angel yelled out, yanking his arm from over the edge of the bed, where he’d begun to burn. He flung himself away from his side of the bed, slamming into Wes, waking him.

“Angel? What’s going on?” Wesley asked sleepily. Angel lay next to him, panting and cradling his arm.

“Wes, you forgot to shut the curtains…” the vampire sounded exasperated. Wesley began to reach for his glasses, and accidentally jarred Angel’s burnt arm.

“’m sorry,” Wesley said drowsily. “Are you all right?” He turned so that he was facing Angel, who just raised an eyebrow at him.

“I’ll be fine.” Angel looked up, and continued, “Let’s just get up and ready.” Angel climbed over Wesley, avoiding the trail of sunlight.

Wesley followed a few seconds later, as he grabbed his glasses from the side table, and closed the curtains in the bathroom. As Wesley made his way to the bathroom, Angel caught a fleeting glance of the cuts on his back before a shirt was pulled on over them. Angel let it go, chalking it up to the last battle.

A few minutes later, with hardly any talk, Angel and Wes made their way down to the lobby, where they’d seen a restaurant-like place the previous night. They entered, and Angel led the way to a table hidden in a corner.

“So, how are we going to go about this, Angel? Where do we start first?” Wesley asked. He looked around to make sure no one was listening, and continued, “We are going to start looking into the disappearances today, I assume?”

Angel looked around at the various couples, both male and female pairs, seated around them. All the tables were filled, and there were still many people trickling in for breakfast. Angel watched as people were asked to share tables with other couples, and Angel eyed his own table. He and Wesley had chosen a corner table, which meant it was pretty big, for a group, instead of just a couple, though fake they may have been.

“Wes?” Angel said discreetly, as a couple approached their table. “I think we’re gonna have to share a table… it’s kinda crowded in here.”

One of the men stepped forward as Wesley nodded slightly. “Hey, is it okay if we share your guys’ table? It’s sorta full in here.”

“Um, sure. I guess it’s okay,” Angel said awkwardly. He slid around the corner to sit by Wesley at the other end, while the male couple slid in at the other end.

“So, what’s your name?” asked one of the guys, the one who’d asked if the table could be shared. “I’m Keith Swanson, and this is my boyfriend, Derek Lange.” 

Angel raised an eyebrow, while Wesley looked taken aback.

“I’m-“ Angel began, and hesitated. Luckily, Wesley caught on, and cut in much more smoothly than Angel would have predicted.

“I’m Wesley, and this is David, but he likes to go by Angel…” At Keith’s curious look, Angel said, “My parents were… hippies. Yeah…”

A look of understanding passed over the other men’s features. Keith had dark eyes, dark hair that flopped over his face, and boyishly good looks. Derek, though, had light blue eyes, that sparkled with a hint of mischief, and medium blond hair, looking the stereotype of Californian populace.

“So, how long you here for? And how long have you been together?” Derek asked. The couple seemed talkative, and Angel discreetly sighed. So much for a quiet breakfast… Angel thought, then joined in the conversation half-heartedly, letting Wesley stumble his way through most of the conversation.

Angel was jolted back, though, when Keith commented, “Well, now that you’re out in the open, you can show your emotions. It’s all fine here.” He stole a kiss from his partner, and grinned.

Wesley stuttered, “Er, well, I… that is to say…” Angel smiled uneasily, and said, “We’ve only been here a day, so we’re still getting used to the freedom.”

When Derek still watched them warily, Angel purposely gripped Wesley’s hand. He laid the hands on the table, weaving their fingers together like Cordy had had them practice. As the four ate their breakfasts, silence fell over the table temporarily.

As the table ate, Angel looked around the room, getting a lock on his surroundings for future reference. As he surveyed, he caught a glimpse of a booth set into a wall- none of the others were. He ignored this for now, instead turning his attention to his plate, and hiding his food in his napkin discreetly.

After everyone was finished, including Angel, who forced down a plate of scrambled eggs, Wesley scooted to the edge of the table. He stood up, just as a waitress pushed past. Wesley’s arms started to windmill as he tried to regain his balance, before Angel steadied him with a hand at his waist.

As Angel stood to leave, Keith reached out and gripped his sleeve. “Hey, care to join us later? Dinner, maybe.”

Wesley nodded, and responded, “Yes, that would be nice. See you then?”

 

Back in the room, Wesley said, “Well, that was certainly interesting. Angel?”

“Yeah,” Angel said distractedly. Wesley looked at him curiously, and Angel continued, “Well, how should we start? Any ideas, Wes?”

“Er, if this is a demonic manifestation, which I believe it is, we should probably find out if there have been any odd occurrences lately.” Wesley looked at a book, just as a pen suddenly flung itself up from the table and toward Wes.

Angel saw this, and reacted instantly. He moved across the few feet between him and Wes, and moved his hand in front of the projectile aimed for Wesley’s face. The pen lodged itself in Angel’s hand, hovering in front of Wesley’s face.

The ex-Watcher’s eyes were huge, and Angel moved his hand away. “Damn. That hurt.” He gently pulled the pen out, and threw it to the side.

“Angel? What was that?” Wesley asked, as he opened one of their bags to fetch the medical supplies. He retrieved the case, and moved over to the bed, where Angel now sat.

“I think that was one of your ‘manifestations’, Wesley. Here, I can-“ Angel moved to take the bandaging, and Wesley moved it out of his reach.

“No, it’s quite all right. I can do it,” Wesley said. He took Angel’s hand in his own as he bandaged the wound. As soon as he was done, Wesley allowed Angel to pull away, and stood.

“Okay, so we know that this is indeed demonic, then,” Wesley said a few moments later. “Now, if only we knew more…”


	3. Part the Third

Part the third

Later that day, Angel and Wesley strolled through the resort, checking out some of the more… indoor activities, for obvious reasons. They had already passed the lounge, where many people were relaxing, holding hands, and playing board games or card games. They had also seen an indoor gymnasium of types, where there were basketball courts and such. It seemed this place was a fancy, country club like place, as they had thought last night. The resort seemed to have it all.

Angel and Wesley passed a couple (holding on to each other as if there was no tomorrow), and turned down a hallway. Abruptly, all the sound seemed to disappear, the atmosphere more confining, oppressing. The hall itself was empty, and the doors closed- it was another wing, all but deserted.

Angel stopped walking for a second, and closed his eyes. “There’s no one down here. I can’t smell any other humans down here.” Silence. “Wes?”

Angel turned, to find the human kneeling in front of a door.

“What are you doing?” Angel asked. Wesley reached into a pocket, removing a lock-pick.

“Opening the door,” Wesley said matter-of-factly. He inserted the thin metal strip into the lock mechanism, and began to manipulate the tumblers inside. A few moments later, there was a final click, and Wesley turned the doorknob.

The door swung open lazily, and revealed a room, fully furnished, but covered in dust. Angel carefully stepped into the room, raising dust with every footstep. Behind him, Wesley followed, then sneezed.

“Looks like no one’s been in here for a while,” Angel commented. He didn’t touch anything, but instead walked over to the dresser. “Look.”

Wesley followed, and saw what Angel had been pointing out. In the thick dust on the wooden top, there were clear fingerprints, looking as if someone had been gripping the dresser before being dragged away. The finger marks streaked through the heavy dust, revealing the original shine of the polished wood.

“What do you suppose happened?” Wesley asked, peering at the streaks. “It looks as if someone was dragged away against their will.”

Angel looked at the floor, noticing footprints in a thin layer of dust there, too. Footprints where neither Wes nor he had stepped in this room. The tread marks scraped across the floor, before disappearing under his and Wes’ own prints.

“I don’t know, but we might have destroyed the trail…” Angel said distractedly. He sniffed again, and caught the faintest trace of human blood, under another faint foreign scent.

“Well, Wesley, you’re in luck- it is a demon. We know that, at least.”

“Really? How do you… oh, yes. Vampire.” Wesley said. He made his way back to the door, careful to walk in his previous footsteps.

Angel followed, mimicking Wes’ method, and asked, “So, why do you think that this wing has been abandoned? It looks usable, you know?” Wesley nodded.

“I suppose we could ask Mills why he’s closed it off. It’s 1:00, Angel- let’s head back to the room, and think of our next options.”

Up in the room, Angel flopped down on the bed, and reached for a suitcase. He flipped it open, and pulled out a packet of blood. As Wesley watched, interested despite himself, Angel said quietly, “Why don’t you order room service in for yourself, Wes?”

Wesley looked away, finally, and replied, “Er, alright. I’ll do that in a moment…” Angel turned away, drinking his pig’s blood.

“Angel?” Wesley asked a moment later. Angel turned back toward the human, and looked at him questioningly.

“Is this making you uncomfortable? I mean… this?” Wesley finished lamely. He was stretched out on a loveseat, staring at a blank TV screen.

Angel continued looking at the mortal, thinking it over. He didn’t know what to say, so remained silent.

A knock on the door disturbed the silence, and Wesley bolted upright, startled. Angel went over, wiping his mouth on his sleeve quickly, to hide any traces of blood.

“Hello?” Angel said, opening the door. On the other side, there was no one there.

“Angel, who is it?” Wesley called, not moving. Angel moved away from the door, and replied, “There was no one there. Didn’t I just hear…?” Angel asked confusedly.

“Yes, I was quite sure I heard a knock, too. And there was no one there?”

“Nope.” Angel sat down on the couch next to Wesley, forcing Wes to sit all the way upright. The seat wasn’t quite big enough to permit individual space, so every now and again, their thighs touched on the couch.

“So, that’s how many of your ‘manifestations’, Wesley? Two?” Angel asked suddenly. “Do you know anything to check out yet, or do you need more examples?”

Wesley was silent for a moment, then said, “I don’t know. I think so, and I’ll start on this right away.”

Wesley went over to the table, where he had his books sprawled across the tabletop. He opened the first one, and immediately became immersed in his research. 

Wes was searching for anything remotely similar to what he had seen, so far- the flying object (out to kill), the spectral knocking, and the type of demon that would be interested in gay couples. As he researched, he lost track of what Angel was doing, instead, reading through ancient pages of books that smelt of dust, parchment, and crumbling leather bindings.

Suddenly, all too soon, Wesley felt something trailing across the back of his neck, causing the hairs to stand on end. He turned around in his chair, expecting to find Angel hovering over his shoulder. The vampire had done that on more than one occasion late at night, while searching for the demon from Cordelia’s latest vision.

When Wesley turned around, however, there was no one there. The room was completely silent, and Angel was gone. The feeling of being watched persisted, however.

“H-hello?” Wesley asked quietly. “Angel, are you still here?” No answer, just that feeling. Wesley slowly stood, and looked around. As he surveyed the still room, he jumped as the bathroom door suddenly slammed open, the doorknob leaving a dent in the wall.

“What the-?” Wesley whirled as a book suddenly flew past his face, and he ducked. Wesley threw himself to the floor, hands over his head to protect himself.

“What ever you are, I command you to stop! What do you want?” Wesley cried out. The sensation of being watched hadn’t lessened, although the immediate danger appeared to have gone. Wesley tentatively stood, and moved back to the table. The book he had been looking through had disappeared.

Wesley searched for his book, then jumped again as the phone in the room began to ring.

“H-hello?” Wesley sighed a moment later as he heard the familiar voice of Angel.

“Hey, Wes. I stepped out for a moment, in case you hadn’t noticed,” Angel teased. Wesley replied, “I certainly noticed, Angel.”

“How long ago did you notice?”

“Only a few minutes, I’m afraid,” Wes admitted sheepishly. He could almost see Angel’s expression, one of smugness from being correct.

“Yeah. I wanted to go and check a few things by myself. You okay?”

“Yes, I’m… fine, Angel.” Wesley lied. He continued, “How long have you been gone?”

“About an hour. I’ll be back in about another hour, okay?”

“Yes,” Wesley said distantly. Angel heard the distance in his voice, and thought he was researching again, as Wes finished, “That will be fine, Angel.” Wesley heard faint voices in the background as Angel finished up, and hung up.

As soon as the phone touched the receiver, all the lights in the room went out, hiding the room in shadow. “Oh, dear,” Wesley breathed.

 

About an hour later, Angel juggled a bag as he unlocked the door to the room. Finally, he succeeded, and the door swung open. It was now well past dark, and the lights in the room were out.

“Wesley?” Angel called. He flipped the light switch, and light bathed the room. Angel hurriedly put the bag down, forgetting about it when he saw the state of the room.

The room was pretty trashed, the table with Wes’ books overturned, papers everywhere, and a lamp lying on the floor, though unbroken. Angel looked through the room, searching, until he found-

“Wesley!” Angel moved to the man’s side, kneeling. Wesley was crumpled on the floor, his hand held to his temple. Angel put a hand to his shoulder, shaking him gently.

“Wes? C’mon, wake up.” As Wesley moaned, Angel began to pull him up. Wesley suddenly groaned louder, and tried to move away from Angel.

“Whoa, there. Hold on.” Angel braced Wes against his chest, and gently levered him up, into a sitting position.

“A-Angel?” Wesley said a moment later. Angel shifted him, and moved away, so they were sitting across from one another on the bathroom floor. Angel kept one hand on Wesley’s shoulder, to keep him upright.

“Yeah, it’s me. What happened?” Wesley drew in a deep breath, and began to relate what had occurred.

“After I hung up, the lights turned off, and I was hit with something,” Wes finished. “The book, though, the one I think may hold the answer, it was taken.”

“By what?”

“I don’t know- I didn’t see a thing.” Angel rose, and began to examine the room.

“Doesn’t smell like anything was in here, besides you.” He paused. “Are you sure that you didn’t see anyone?”

“No, Angel. If I had, I would have told you.” Wesley said, sounding slightly irked. He rubbed at his temple, and began to stand. Suddenly, as he did, Angel caught a faint trace of a scent of blood.

“Wesley, are you bleeding?” Angel asked. The man looked down, and said, sounding puzzled, “I don’t think so…”

Angel stepped over, and said quietly, “Take off your shirt.” Wesley looked at him, confused, and Angel moved his hand impatiently.

Sighing, Wesley moved to obey, taking his light blue button-down shirt, and beginning to unbutton it. He shed the shirt, letting it fall to the floor, and turned his back to Angel. Angel stepped up, and gasped.

Wesley’s back was full of cuts and scrapes, most in a methodic, strategic pattern. Most of the cuts had the qualities of deep cuts that would become scars with time. Bruises also covered his back, reaching around his side to no doubt cover his front, too.

“Wes. Turn around.” The soft voice held no emotion at the moment, as Wesley obeyed. The front of Wes appeared no better than his back. His front was covered with deep cuts, bruises, and scars both old and new.

Angel’s face looked into Wesley’s, looking shocked and concerned. His eyes held a look of worry, as they looked into Wesley’s pain filled, nervous blue eyes.

“Wesley. What happened? Where did you get all these from?”

“Er, I… some are from… Faith, and some…” Angel gripped the younger man’s elbow, pulling him back into the other room, and sat down on the bed.

Without a word, Angel began to clean Wes’ back gently, with the first aid kit they’d brought. Still lost, Wes asked, “Angel, why are you-?”

“You’re bleeding. Several of the cuts opened, Wes. They’re… pretty deep…”

Wesley sat still, heeding to Angel’s cool, gentle fingers, examining the damage. Every now and again, Wesley would hiss, when one of the cleansing swabs struck a sore spot, but forced himself to remain calm and quiet.

“Why didn’t you tell us that Faith hurt you this badly?” Angel asked a few minutes later. Wesley turned and looked at Angel, who had moved on the bed to sit behind him.

“There were other things going on at the moment, Angel. I’m quite alright.”

“No, you’re not. It doesn’t look like this says ‘all right’ to me. You should have told us how badly you were hurt, Wes. I-“ Angel trailed off, and continued his ministrations. The room fell into an awkward silence, until Angel was finished.

Later that night, Angel stayed up late, watching Wesley sleep, as he stared out the window, lost deep in thought.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


	4. Chapter the fourth

Part the fourth.

The next day went as normal, with no more clues turned up, nor Wesley’ missing book. Mr. Mills had been able to talk to Angel for no more then a few minutes, only enough to explain the one wing had been closed off due to asbestos. 

Wesley continued researching, to no avail. He could find no references to the type of phenomenon he’d experienced, nor anything close. Finally, the next night, Wesley slammed his book closed, frustrated.

As he rubbed the bridge of his nose, Wesley said, “I’m done for the night- I think what we needed was in that book.” Silence, and Wesley tried, “I’m going to sleep. Angel?” 

Angel nodded, staring out the window again. He barely moved as Wesley got dressed, and turned out the lights; the vampire was fully in brood mode.

As the hours drifted by, Angel became more aware of Wesley shifting more and more often in his sleep. He watched as the man began to turn, and moan very quietly.

“Wesley?” No response, just another thrash. Angel cautiously approached the bed, moving silently.

“Hey, Wes, wake up. It’s just a dream.” He moved onto the bed on his own side, kneeling on the bed. Wesley moaned again quietly, caught in the throes of a dream.

Suddenly, as Angel was about to tap Wesley, the man bolted upright with a yell, throwing himself toward Angel. The vampire caught him, surprised, yet held him.

“No, no…”

“Wes? What’s wrong?” Angel asked quietly. Wesley moved to pull away, and Angel let him, surprised when Wes only moved a few inches away. 

“N-nothing. Just a dream, Angel.” Wesley said, sounding more alert now. Angel raised an eyebrow, and said, “Sounded more like a nightmare. Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine. I’m… very sorry about that… er, I just need to…” Wesley stood up, and went to the window. As Angel watched, he opened the window, and took a deep breath of fresh air.

“Er, Angel?” Wesley asked a moment later, sounding funny. Angel looked up as Wes continued, “Is there supposed to be a fire in the back tonight?”

Angel hurried to the window, and saw what Wes was talking about. A fire of noticeable size, burning near what looked like the tennis court. Angel watched, focusing his hearing that direction.

“There’s someone there. I can’t hear what he’s saying, but he’s chanting something.” Angel said quietly. Wesley looked at him curiously, then whispered, “He?”

“I think it’s a male. Shh,” Angel said. He listened for a minute longer, then, without a word, turned away from the window. He grabbed his duster, and made for the door, as Wesley called out, “Angel?”

“What?”

“You’re not going down there, are you?” Angel nodded slowly, and Wesley said, “Well, wait for me. I’ll come with you, Angel.” Wesley began to move to get dressed, and Angel interrupted.

“No, stay here. I’ll handle it, you go back to sleep.” Angel looked firmly at Wesley, who began to protest. Angel cut him off, and said, “Look. Get dressed, and meet me out there. I’ll try and catch them.”

Angel raced out of the room, skipping the elevator. He thrust open the doors to the stairs, and instead of taking them, he leaped over the rail, dropping to the landing of the next floor. He repeated this until he got to the ground floor, and ran out the door.

Angel approached the court and the fire, and scented whomever it was, getting ready to flee. Angel turned the last corner to the court, just as the opposite gate in the fence swung shut. Angel took off, pursuing the fleeing person.

Angel rounded another corner, and caught a fleeting glimpse of the person. As Angel began to run faster, the figure suddenly whirled around, pointed to Angel, and whispered a word. Angel jerked and fell backward as the spell hit him, throwing the world into sharp relief as it spun.

“Angel!” Wesley called a few moments later. He knelt awkwardly by Angel, and Angel saw him panting heavily.

“What happened? Did you see who it was?” Angel sat up, and Wesley watched warily. “A-Angel?”

“I didn’t catch him, Wes. He’s gone.”

 

The next morning, Angel and Wesley joined Keith and Derek for breakfast, as planned a few days beforehand.

“Wesley, you okay?” Keith asked. “You look like you haven’t slept… in that case, never mind.” Keith sounded embarrassed, yet raised an eyebrow knowledgeably. Wesley blushed, and looked away, only adding, “Er, yes. I didn’t sleep… all that well.”

Angel noticed this, and smiled slightly, looking amused. A few moments later, Derek asked, “So, what are you two up to later today?”

Wesley replied, “We’re not quite sure yet. Do you have any plans?” He shot a glance at Angel, wondering what they were driving at.

“Oh, later Keith and I were gonna play some tennis… wanna join us?” Derek said, his smile inviting. Angel elbowed Wes gently, shooting him a reminding glance.

“Oh, er, I’d love to… but Angel has to…” Wesley trailed off, grateful when Angel cut in smoothly, finishing what Wesley had started.

“I have a call I have to make later. A business call, you know?” Keith nodded understandingly. 

“Don’t you hate it when they can’t just let ya have vacation?” Keith squeezed Derek’s hand, then moved to rise. Angel glanced to see that they were all done eating. Angel, Wesley and Derek followed, all rising and stretching.

“So, Wesley, when do you wanna meet?” Derek asked. Wesley replied, “Well, how about in two hours?” The other couple nodded, and Angel and Wesley began to exit. As they did, Angel slipped an arm around Wesley’s waist, pulling him closer as they walked. Wesley looked startled a moment, then recovered, relaxing into Angel’s hold. Neither noticed the feeling of Derek watching them exit.

 

“Do you think they are the ones?” Derek asked a half hour later. He listened for a moment on his cell phone, then nodded.

“They spend an awful lot of time in their room, boss.” Derek looked around, and moved a few steps further away from the tennis court. He and Keith had headed there about half an hour ago, and Wesley wasn’t due for another hour.

He watched as his lover returned a serve out on the courts, and smiled when Keith looked his way. He and Keith had been playing another couple when his phone had gone off. He had been reluctant to take the call, but one of the girls they were playing against had insisted she needed a break. So, two were playing, while one of the girls rested on the bench, squinting into the morning sun.

“Well, I don’t know. They are kind of secretive, and an awfully odd couple. One seems much too stiff for the other, you know?” A reply came that was obviously not respectful, and Derek scowled slightly, his handsome surfer features twisting in displeasure.

“Yes, I know that couples can’t be predicted. Look, another one disappeared last night- no one else here knows about it yet… No, I have no way of doing anything. I haven’t seen anything overly suspicious, no phenomenon, nada. Zero.” A few more seconds, then Derek nodded. “Yeah, I’ll try and check them out… one of them is supposed to play tennis with us in a little bit….” Keith began to come over, just as Derek said, “Talk to you later,” and closed his phone.

“Sorry about that,” Derek said, pulling his lover in for a hug. A quick kiss, and Keith grinned.

“Aw, it’s nothing. It’s okay.” Keith assured him. “Ready to come back now?” Derek nodded, and squeezed Keith tightly before releasing him.

 

A while later, Angel gazed out the window, safely hidden in shadow. If he moved just right, he could make out Wesley on the tennis courts. The man was a bit clumsy, but held his own against Derek.

As Angel watched, he mused over everything that had happened the past few days. He thought over there had been few to none clues popping up, and how the only book that may have been of any use had conveniently disappeared. 

Angel also mused over how he and Wes hadn’t really been forced to act all that differently. Of course, they had been spending an awful lot of time in their room, so as to avoid that… Angel didn’t really mind- he could think of a lot of people who’d be worse to act gay with than Wes, and it wasn’t like he’d never been with a man before. 

Wes was… innocent, in a way. He wasn’t jaded to life just yet, and was overly eager to please. Angel found it almost endearing, the way Wesley would smile self-consciously upon receiving a complement. Angel just found it slightly amusing, yet also disturbing, making him wonder if the ex-Watcher had never been praised before.

As Angel watched, a while later, Wesley and the other couple seemed to finish up, and begin to head back inside. Angel followed them, when he caught a flicker of movement at the corner of his eye. He turned, but the was nothing there, just a faint sense that something had been watching Angel from the corner of the room.

Angel went to the corner, and hesitantly knocked on the wall. Solid… solid… a few inches over, though, Angel heard a dull thud. The wall was hollow. 

Determined, Angel carefully tapped out a section of the wall by the bathroom that was nearly four feet across. So enraptured was he, he almost didn’t notice Wesley come in. The door closing made Angel jump slightly, though Wes missed it as the phone began to ring.

“Hello?” Wesley froze, and Angel looked at him curiously.

“Wesley?” Wesley waved his hand at Angel, motioning for him to be quiet.

“Hello, Mr. Mills… oh, really…” Angel frowned- obviously, this wasn’t a courtesy call. “Who was it? And when did this occur?” A few more minutes, as Wesley nodded. “Yes, of course I understand. We’ll look into this right away.”

Wesley hung up the phone, and turned to Angel, his eyes worried behind his glasses. “There was another one last night, Angel.

“It was a young woman, Kayla Roberts. Her partner checked out this morning, distraught,” Wesley said. Angel nodded, and asked, “Anything else?”

“And, Mr. Mills is not pleased with us, Angel. He desires results by Friday.”

“Today is Wednesday… we’ve only been working on this for three days!” Angel protested. “What can he expect in three days?”

“I don’t know, but he seems to think we may be here for a ‘free resort stay’…” Wesley said, looking slightly amused. He smiled slightly, then became serious again.

“Yeah, okay. Any other ideas?” Wesley shook his head, and Angel rose off his seat, walking back over to the wall.

“Well, I think I found something here.” Angel tapped out his discovery again, and Wesley looked approvingly at him.

“Nice. Do you know if it leads to anything?” As Wesley finished asking, Angel suddenly rammed his fist into the wall, which crumbled under the strike. Angel and Wesley found themselves staring down a dark flight of stairs.

“Angel… you probably shouldn’t have done that…” Wesley said quietly. Then, “Do you want to go first, then?”

Angel headed carefully down the steps, not realizing the absolute darkness that was only a few steps down. He didn’t realize this until Wesley, about two steps behind him, stumbled slightly.

Wesley’s breath caught in his throat, and he steadied himself carefully. Then, he began to notice the absolute darkness, and stopped in his tracks.

“Wes?” Angel’s voice was far away, as Wesley began to have trouble breathing. Then, Wesley pushed against the darkness, and said weakly, “Yes, Angel?”

“You okay?” Angel’s hands found themselves on Wesley’s shoulders. Wes moved slightly toward Angel, shuddering slightly. “Wes? What’s wrong?”

“I-I… nothing. I’m fine, Angel.” Wesley tried to sound more confident than he actually was, and failed.

“You’re shivering.” Angel instinctively pulled the younger man closer, almost but not quite, hugging him. “Wesley, it’s okay. I’m right here. Nothing’s gonna happen.”

“I-I know… I suppose I’m acting rather foolish just now, aren’t I?” Wesley stammered apologetically, sounding shaky. He tried to pull away, but Angel held him still.

“No, you’re not, it’s okay.” Angel began to push Wesley back up the stairs, and the man obeyed. Back up in the room, Angel sat down, pulling Wesley with him, still holding him.

“What happened, Wesley?” Angel asked gently. He absently rubbed Wesley’s shoulder, massaging him gently.

“N-nothing, Angel. I tripped, and… I panicked a bit more than was necessary. I’m sorry.” Wesley began to apologize, and Angel turned Wesley’s face to his own. He forced Wes to look him in the eyes, and the man complied reluctantly.

Wesley’s blue eyes were wide, filled with embarrassment. Angel squeezed his shoulder, before he let go, and stood up.

“Now, what are we going to do about this wall?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Okay. Sorry its shorter, but it's Late, tired, and any errors are mine. REVIEW, please.


	5. Part the Fifth

Part the Fifth

A little while later, Angel moved toward the wall again. He quickly fetched a flashlight from their packs, and clicked it on triumphantly. He aimed it at the hole, and made his way back to the entrance. Wesley sat on the couch, back to Angel, and his face was closed off as he stared off into space. It was his turn to brood now; Angel had investigating to do.

“Angel? Are you going back?” Wesley asked. Angel nodded, and paused at the mouth of the hole in the wall, and glanced back at Wes.

“Yeah, I’m gonna see where it leads. I’ll be back,” Angel said, and walked into the darkness before Wesley could say anything or follow him. Only a few steps down, the light from the room was obliterated, swallowed whole by the darkness that threatened to press in on you. Looking back, though, Angel could still make out the blazing light of the room- it just didn’t seem to reach very far into the tunnel. Angel ignored this as best he could, even as he felt the darkness swallow any sensation on living beings and cheer from him senses.

Angel followed the rough-hewn steps down for quite a while, farther and farther from the room, he discovered he couldn’t hear anything from up there any more. Looking back, he discovered the stairs must have turned just enough that he couldn’t see the cheerful light of the room.

Angel nearly stumbled as the stairs ended, and his foot slammed up short, meeting a dirt floor. He recovered his balance, playing the flashlight beam across the walls, which were rough and uneven. Angel looked around, and found the room completely empty. There was nothing anywhere, no other doors, nothing. Angel looked closely, and found a faint scratch in the wall.

The marking was faded, looking as if it had been- scratched out? Angel looked closely, trying to see what had been there. The marks were on a wall next to the staircase, and looked as if they had been hastily scrawled, then later rubbed at quickly, to hide them.

Angel found nothing else of interest in the room, and before returning to the staircase, looked again at the markings, committing them to memory. He finished, and began to climb back up the steep, rough stairs, taking care not to stumble.

 

Up in the room, Wesley sat still, watching TV while Angel was gone. He stared blankly at the screen, not really watching. He was lost in thought, disappointed in how weak he had been.

‘To lose control so completely, and in front of *Angel*, no less…’ Wes thought miserably. He had always been in control of his fear, and here he had collapsed like a *child*. Wesley was embarrassed- he hadn’t had that big a fear of the dark since he was a child, and here…

Wesley thought of how Angel had been so comforting, and flinched. ‘I had no reason for him to act that way… I was weak, and he had to comfort me like a child,’ Wesley didn’t mind the comfort, just regretted the reason for the comfort in the first place. To have fallen utterly apart, because of a childish fear…

Wesley had destroyed his independent image with just one act- Angel had seen how weak he really was, and would no doubt think less of him. Wesley had been trying so hard to make his own way, become his own person, and shattered all his work because he was afraid of the dark.

Well, Wesley amended, it wasn’t so much he was afraid of the dark, so much as it was that he was wary of things that had happened in the dark before. Wes knew that there were things in the dark that would never see the light of day; things that weren’t meant to see the light of day.

As Wesley thought, looking morose, Angel finally returned from his voyage.

“Hey, Wesley.” No response, and Angel came to Wesley’s side. He waved a hand in front of his face, and repeated, “Wesley?”

“Oh, Angel,” Wesley sounded defeated, and Angel backed off. “Did you find anything?”

“No. Whatever was down there, it’s long gone.” Angel watched the silent man for a moment, then said, “Uh, there were some markings…”

Wesley looked up, and Angel saw the defeat evident in the mortal’s eyes, and decided to let it go. He knew how much it had to have cost his pride to be comforted when he’d frozen. Angel wanted to try to convince Wesley it didn’t mean anything, it didn’t matter, but knew it would only sound patronizing, and make things worse.

Angel grabbed a piece of paper, and began to sketch from memory, even as Wes asked, “Angel?”

Angel finished sketching, presenting the paper to Wesley. “Recognize these?”

Wesley took the paper, examining the symbols displayed, and his eyes lit up as he hurried to the table covered with his research. He paged through a couple of books, looking triumphant, as he finished.

“Here. Those symbols are Ugarian, and they are used in rituals performed by a Gorlin demon. The information on that demon is in…” Wesley’s face fell.

“The book that disappeared,” Angel finished. He watched as Wesley gently set his book down, and said, “It’s okay, Wesley- we’ll find something.”

 

“Derek, have you found anything more?” The phone went off in the middle of the day, after the tennis game. Keith and Derek had taken a nap after certain… activities, and Derek slipped silently out of bed to answer the phone, which was on silent mode.

Drowsily, Derek replied, “No. Why is it so urgent all of a sudden? Ever since you found out about that couple, you’ve been ragging me especially hard.”

The voice on the other end of the line sounded especially impatient, snapping, “Well, another one disappeared- we’re behind. And this couple, something has been in the chamber. They’ve found it. You would do well to hurry your part, Derek.” 

 

Later that day, as Wesley sat at the table, there was a knock at the door. Wesley looked up from his book, and shoved the rest under the table quickly as Angel jerked his head at him. Angel went to the door, and pulled it open as there was another knock.

The door swung open to reveal Derek and Keith.

“Hey, guys… Wes, you told us the room number, and we thought we’d swing by…” Keith offered. Derek nodded, and added, “We thought maybe you’d want to catch a movie or something.”

“That’d be nice,” Wesley admitted, and Angel knew he was hinting that he was tired of researching, which was rare for the Englishman. “What movie were you planning on seeing?”

“Oh, I don’t know. We could see what’s on TV, or the resort has movies to order,” Derek replied.

Angel nodded, and said quietly, “That sounds like fun. How’s now?” He was sounding overly cheerful; not so as the normal person would hear it, but if you knew Angel well, you could tell he was reaching here.

A while later, Angel and Wes were sitting on the love seat in Keith and Derek’s room, which was nearly identical to their own, while Keith and Derek themselves were on a couch. The couch allowed the two to be cuddled (in a manly way, surely) together, not at all abashed by Angel and Wesley’s presence.

On his own seat, Angel was taking his turn to allow Wesley’s arm to rest around his waist, Angel’s face against the slightly taller man’s shoulder. Wesley watched, somewhat amused by the other couple’s kisses stolen at odd moments in the movie.

“So, why don’t you two kiss? You won’t feel so left out then…” prodded Derek, after catching Wesley’s gaze. Wes looked away, embarrassed, as Keith sat up straight, and added, “Yeah, and it’s not like we can complain…”

Angel shot a look at Wes, and smiled. He quickly leaned in, catching the ex-Watcher’s gaze carefully, his eyes apologizing already, yet, still emotionless. Angel’s lips brushed Wesley’s barely allowing the human time to register the act, before Angel caught Derek’s suspicious and disappointed look.

As Angel recognized the look, he was already moving closer to Wes, sitting up straight. He pressed his lips to Wesley’s, even though the man was slightly tense. Angel meant for the kiss to be quick as possible and chaste, impersonal, so as not to embarrass Wes or put him on the spot.

Angel closed his eyes, and felt Wesley move into the kiss a moment behind him, perhaps picking up on what was going on. Angel kept his lips closed, even as he distantly heard Keith’s supportive call. Then, Angel caught himself thinking, Wesley’s not as bad a kisser as Cordelia said… hmm. As soon as he caught this thought, though, Angel quelled it. 

He dimly remembered opening his mouth, and then his tongue was flicking gently against Wes’ lower lip, teasing gently. As Wesley’s heart rate sped up a little, Angel lightly ran his tongue over the other man’s lips, inviting his tongue out to play.

 

Wesley was taken aback when he found Angel’s mouth on his- he hadn’t expected Angel to give in that easily to pressure, to be certain. He noticed Keith and Derek watching, however, and reacted. He was determined to at least make this somewhat believable, so he acquiesced to Angel, moving closer to Angel, holding him automatically.

And here I should think that it would be… well, more different, kissing a man… Wesley thought idly… Suddenly, Wes felt something run across his lips, and he opened his eyes briefly in shock. Then, lost in the moment, he submitted, and opened his mouth to Angel.

Angel’s tongue carefully brushed against Wesley’s, still playful. A hand came to the back of Wes’ head, cradling him, holding him in place.

Across the room, Derek was watching the two, shocked. He and Keith watched the other couple go at it for a few minutes, looking extremely caught up. His doubts of the couple subsided momentarily, even as Keith looked at him, pleading for a kiss of his own. He complied eagerly, even as he wondered when the other couple was coming up for air.

The movie was promptly forgotten by Derek and Keith, although a moment later, Angel and Wesley broke apart. Wesley began breathing heavily, and raised a hand to run through his hair nervously. He looked at Angel, and mouthed, “Angel?”

Angel looked extremely nervous himself, and looked slightly apologetic. “Wesley, I’m sorry.” His voice could hardly be heard over the movie, meaning Keith and Derek couldn’t hear them.

“I didn’t mean to do… that, or go that, you know, far. Wesley, I’m-“ Angel’s apology was stopped when Derek and Keith separated for a moment, and Angel quickly laid back down against Wesley’s shoulder.

As they all continued watching the movie, which was almost at the end by now, Wesley gently whispered to Angel, “Don’t be. Sorry, I mean. It’s alright… I understand.”

In response, Angel’s hand found one of Wesley’s, and gently squeezed it, relieving Wesley’s feeling that he had gone too far, that Angel had the wrong impression. Wesley smiled, and thought that maybe everything would be okay after all.


	6. Part the Sixth

**_Part the Sixth_ **

Wesley’s eyes opened to darkness, with no trace of life nor light. His quick struggle proved to him that his ankles, wrists, and mouth were bound. He was cold, terribly so, and hungry. He looked around him, only to wince and remain still from a sharp stab of pain in his stomach.

Wesley shivered, then moaned. Something was terribly wrong- and there was nothing he could do. He was really in it this time… Wesley slowly began to fall back asleep, not at all soothed by the pain, cold, nor hunger. 

Rogue demon hunter indeed, Wesley thought. He couldn’t even keep from bumbling everything that came his way…

 

**Earlier**

“Hello?”

“Angel! Guy, why haven’t you called? I mean, guy, it’s not like you don’t know the phone number.”

“Cordelia. What’s up?” Angel sounded confused, which was only to be expected- it was about six in the evening, and he’d just woken up from a nap. “Did you have a vision?”

He hadn’t thought of what would happen if she had a vision while they were out here, a good forty miles from LA. He winced, and glanced over to see Wes where he’d left him- sitting at the table, looking through a few books for the second time, hoping against hope for a change in luck. The only difference was, this time the Watcher was eating while searching, and muttering quietly to himself in what sounded like Latin.

“No, I didn’t have a vision. I just thought you guys would, you know, call, and let me know how everything has been going.” Cordelia sounded cheerful, and Angel winced.

“We’re doing fine, Cordelia. We haven’t finished here yet, and… no, Wesley’s fine… Yes, Cordy… how are things at the office?” Angel tried to change the subject away from her prying as to whether they were acting ‘couple-y’.

A few minutes later, Angel sighed, as Cordelia asked, “So, can I talk to Research Boy, or is he busy?” Angel was relieved, and turned to hand the phone off to Wes, as he responded, “Here just a-“

Angel stopped, and stared. The table where Wesley had just been was empty, the seat right where Wesley had had it positioned, and just missing its patron. All the books were gone, and all that remained was a small scrap of paper. “Angel? Are you still there?”

“Cordelia, Wesley’s asleep right now,” Angel said, hiding his emotion. He vaguely said goodbye, and hung up. After he did, Angel strode over, and picked up the paper.

Well, obviously you know enough to know that he didn’t go home. Your partner is gone… what are ya gonna do?

Angel threw down the note, disgusted. Angrily, he picked up the chair, and threw it down. It bounced, but didn’t break, because Angel’s heart wasn’t really in it, his force not behind the toss. He went over to the hole in the wall, and yelled down it, “Wes? This isn’t funny. Wesley?”

He was hoping that this was just a joke, but knew deep down that this wasn’t the case. He had heard nothing- with his hearing, he should have been able to hear anything that had happened. He’d heard nothing- no footsteps, no resistance, just… nothing, and now he was one step further behind again.

Angel hurried down the steps again, flashlight in hand, though he didn’t remember grabbing the light. The beam bobbed wildly across the walls, as Angel hurried down the stairs. He reached the hall at the end, and growled in frustration. 

The room was empty. 

Wesley was gone.

 

Wesley woke again some time later, unaware of how much or how little time had passed. He moaned, and was greeted by a growl.

“Be quiet.” A rough, harsh voice grated on Wesley’s ears, and he felt himself yanked into a sitting position. Wesley listened as the thing left, its footsteps echoing until they faded.

Wes tugged at his bonds again, to no avail. They weren’t loosening, or showing any signs of giving. He hugged his knees to his chest loosely, and put his chin on his shoulder. The darkness around him was oppressive, stifling almost. Wesley forced himself to breathe deeply and evenly, as he tried to think of ways to escape.

The darkness was muffling everything, including the thoughts in Wesley’s head. He shook his head to clear it, and it helped. Wesley’s stomach still hurt, and when he maneuvered his bound hands to touch his stomach, he found his shirt wet, damp and warm. A cautious poke, and he flinched in pain, willing himself not to cry out.

He was cold, hungry, injured and bleeding, and Angel had no idea where he was; Wesley thought things couldn’t get much worse.

 

Angel stormed into the lobby, and at the reception desk, asked impatiently, “May I speak to Mr. Mills please?”

The woman smiled cheerfully, and said, “Just a minute, I’ll go ring him. Who should I say wishes to see him?”

“Angel.” The woman picked up a phone, said a few words, then hung up.

“He’ll be down in a few minutes, sir. If you’ll just sit over there…” Angel complied, and anxiously waited for Mr. Mills. A few minutes later, when the proprietor came, Angel stood up hurriedly, meeting him halfway across the lobby.

“Mr. Angel? What is the problem? Have you found anything out?” Angel looked at the man’s hopeful face, and winced.

“Uh, not quite. My partner has just disappeared.”

A few minutes later, after Mills’ apologies and condolences, Angel left to walk through the parks outside- so far, he hadn’t managed to look over them all, leaving that to Wesley. Only, now with Wes gone, Angel needed to see if there was anything out there for himself.

He paced the sidewalks, which still held a bit of the heat collected from the sun, which had set about an hour ago. Angel navigated the walks, looking for anything unusual. He found nothing, which did nothing to help ease his anxiety.

“Damn it. Wesley…” Angel whispered quietly. He was about to pick up a stray rock and throw it, when something suddenly stuck in his mind. He turned to go back inside, his pace slowing, knowing that Wesley was gone.

 

Earlier, Angel and Wesley had been in their room, Angel paging through the books this time, Wesley lounging on the bed, half asleep. They had come back from Keith and Derek’s room late last night, having caught another movie after the first.

Angel flipped another page, and sighed. Wesley chuckled quietly, and said, “Not as easy as it looks, eh?”

Angel just shot him a look, and said teasingly, “Hey, at least I’m looking now.” Wesley groaned, then rolled so he was propped up on his elbows, looking at Angel.

“Yes, well considering that I have been doing most the research, it’s only fair that you look for something while I relax.” Wesley smiled, then took off his glasses, rolling back onto his back.

Angel silently got up, and walked over to the bed; Wesley didn’t hear him, and the man’s eyes were closed. Angel picked up a pillow, and gently tossed it onto the mortal’s head. “Hey!”

Wesley quickly sat up, tossing the pillow back at Angel. Angel caught it, and whapped Wes upside the head with it, moving out of his reach as he repeatedly hit him. Angel began to laugh quietly, until-

“Here, then!” Wesley suddenly moved, launching himself at the vampire. Angel realized, as he began to move out of the way, that Wes was being playful, which he hadn’t expected. Wesley had always seemed so serious, and this caught Angel off-guard.

Angel intercepted the human in midair, slamming him back onto the bed. Wesley gasped, clearly not expecting that, even as Angel hit him with the pillow again. Wesley threw his arms up, crossed over his face, as the pillow struck his stomach. Angel knelt on the edge of the bed, and said, “Are you relaxed now?”

Wesley began to reply, and Angel leant down, covering Wesley’s face with his hand. The large hand covered his mouth, Angel straddling Wesley. Wes struggled to throw him off, to no avail- he simply wasn’t strong enough. Angel began to laugh, until suddenly, Wesley’s knee slammed into his stomach, nearly throwing him off the bed.

“Hey, that’s not playing nicely,” Angel said, and moved off of Wesley. Wesley gasped, and sat upright. He looked curiously at Angel, who sat on the edge of the bed, smiling slightly.

“Angel? What’s gotten into you?”

“I don’t know. I’m sorry, Wesley. I won’t-“ Angel began to apologize, and Wesley abruptly cut him off.

“No, it’s fine. I just didn’t expect that.” Wesley smiled crookedly, and reached for his glasses. Angel retrieved them for him, handing the glasses to Wesley. Wesley put them on, and adjusted them. “We’ve both been working hard, and I suppose we needed to get rid of excess energy,” Wesley said, trying to cover his uncharacteristic behavior.

Angel raised an eyebrow, and said, “Right.” He got back up, going over to the books. Wesley watched him, and lay back down, falling asleep for about two hours, until he switched Angel jobs.

 

Angel smiled at the memory, and thought that he’d never seen Wesley acting so free before. He’d always been acting so serious, and the fact that Wes had let go made Angel wonder if Wesley had ever let go that much before.

Angel wandered through the lobby, which was deserted now. Laughter was heard echoing from one of the huge lounges, and Angel remembered that there had been an all-guest movie. Everyone was surely there, or at least most of the people, judging from the sound of it.

Over at the restaurant-type place, the door was closed, and Angel wandered over to it. Inside, he heard silence, then a faint scuff, like a shoe being scraped across the floor accidentally. Angel concentrated, and carefully heard a faint heartbeat, a hurried breath when he jiggled the doorknob. The breath was soon followed by a faint monotone, a chant of some sort.

Angel concluded that whoever was in there was obviously up to no good, and instinctively, he turned the knob harshly, feeling the lock splinter under his force. The door swung open, and Angel stepped in. The voice faltered, then continued, and Angel stepped around a corner, entering the main room of the breakfast bar. He looked around the room, and by the single booth set into the wall, Angel spotted Derek, hands raised, an ethereal blue light shining around his hands.

Angel called to the startled man, “Hey, who started the party without me?” Derek whipped around, and gasped audibly when he saw Angel. “Where’s Wesley?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. How did you get in here? I made sure the door was locked…” Derek said carefully, looking calm, but slightly confused.

“Don’t play around. I know magic when I see it. Now, what are you doing?”

Derek looked startled a moment, then recovered, “What do you mean, you know about magic?” Angel came over and grabbed the man by the throat, and asked dangerously, “Where’s Wesley?”

Derek choked, and replied, “I don’t… know. Haven’t… seen him. Why… looking… for him?”

“You know why-what…?” Angel’s question trailed off as the back wall to the odd booth suddenly fell away, revealing more catacomb-like passages. Angel gaped, and dropped Derek in his shock.


	7. Part the Seventh

_**Part the Seventh** _

 

Derek fell unceremoniously to the floor, then picked himself up. He glared at Angel, and said, “Keith is missing too. I’m tired of not doing anything, so I said the hell with it.”

Angel looked at Derek, and asked, “What are you really doing here?”

“We really were on vacation, but… I was told to look into the disappearances here. Keith doesn’t know I’m a mage, and now he’s gone too. I don’t know anything about Wesley.” The man looked lifeless, his blue eyes slightly vacant, glazed with worry for his lover.

Angel looked at the passageway Derek had revealed, and motioned to it. “Wanna go save ‘em?” Derek looked up, and nodded after a moment. Derek picked himself up off the floor, and started off down the passageway without waiting for Angel. A few feet in. he paused, shooting Angel a look. “You coming?”

“So why are you here?” Angel couldn’t help asking a few moments later, curious. Derek, ahead of Angel in the hall, turned as he whispered something, a globe of light appearing in his palm. The light lit the hall in an eerily flickering light, and Angel just raised an eyebrow.

“I’m here because I was on vacation, but then my boss told me to start looking at the disappearances. He said they seemed like a pattern ritual.”

Angel absorbed this, then said, “Okay. Now, if you’re telling the truth, why did Keith disappear?” Derek looked angry, and replied bitterly, “I guess whoever was taking the victims knew I was here, and knew what he meant to me… but wait… how do you know about all this?”

“I’m also here to look at the disappearances. I was hired by the resort manager,” Angel said matter-of-factly. “Wes works with me.”

A few minutes passed in silence, as they walked down the dark hallway. Angel suddenly stiffened, and held out a hand to stop Derek. Derek looked questioningly at Angel, opening his mouth until Angel motioned for him to be quiet.

The silence revealed what Angel had heard- a quiet scraping on stone on stone, then a shuffling of footsteps trying to be discreet.

Angel motioned to Derek, and moved silently down the passageway, moving toward the noises. Derek followed, and watched Angel warily. As they progressed, the hall sloped gently downwards, so that surely they were underground by now.

At the end of the hallway, there was a huge chamber, one with nothing in it. Derek pushed past Angel, and looked around hopefully.

“I knew there was something odd about the disappearances,” Derek muttered distractedly. He trailed a hand across the wall absently, and Angel watched as his fingers left faint trails in the dust.

On the other side of the room, Angel discovered another door, and pushed it open. He stepped into another hall, followed by Derek a moment later. The hall split off into two different directions, and the two were silent for a minute.

“So, uh, you wanna go right, and I’ll go left?” Derek offered a moment later. Angel nodded, then said, “Be careful. There’s something down here.”

“Yeah. What about you? What are you gonna do if you find anything? I mean, you don’t-“ Angel cut him off with a grin, and let his face slide into it’s natural visage momentarily. Derek looked taken aback, stumbling back a step, before nodding.

“I can take care of myself.”

 

“Mm… Der?” Keith called. He tried to open his eyes, but when he did, found that they opened into darkness. He really couldn’t tell whether or not his eyes were opened or closed. He attempted to move his hands, then his feet, only to find them bound.

“Derek? Are you here?” There was no answer. “Der? Hey, at least tell me if you’re here- I’ll play, but… Derek?”

There was no answer, and Keith began to worry. Derek played these games every now and again, but always told Keith he was at least there. Since Derek didn’t respond, Keith began to worry- either Derek had truly left him alone while playing the game, or… someone else had taken him and tied him up.

As Keith lay there, silent, he began to suspect it was far more likely the latter than the former. Derek had never forgotten him before, and Keith thought that it was highly unlikely he would here, at the resort, of all places.

 

I’m cold… Wesley thought idly. He turned and accepted a drink gladly, sipping carefully from it as he nodded his thanks to the young girl. He turned back around, and met Angel’s gaze.

“As I was saying, Angel, we need to get working on the Handel case when we return. They are getting a bit cross we’ve put them off for this long, but we can’t exactly send Cordelia in to do the work, now, can we?”

“And why can’t we send Cordelia in?” Cordy’s voice poked at him indignantly. He turned around, and smiled uneasily.

“Er, I just meant to say that, mayhap it would be better if Angel or I worked on the case, and-“

“Save it,” Cordy said, waving her hand dismissively. She grinned, then pointed to Angel. “Shouldn’t you listen to Angel?” 

“Cordelia?”

Wesley blinked, startled for a moment- Cordy had been there a second ago- before he shrugged. He turned around, and found Angel staring at him. It’s so cold… doesn’t anyone else feel it?

“Angel? What is it?” Angel backed off, then whispered conspiratorially, “Maybe you should stop it.”

“Stop what?” Wesley was confused, and he took another sip of his champagne.

“Wes, you know what. Wake up, and pay attention. Otherwise, you’re gonna get yourself killed.”

“Angel? I don’t know what you-“ Wesley stopped, noticing that Angel’s gaze had suddenly shifted, and the vampire now looked worried. ”Angel?”

“You’re bleeding. What happened, Wesley?” Wesley made no reply, confused. Why am I so cold? Just make it stop… no one else seems to be affected.

“I’m not bleeding… what are you on about? I’m-“ Wesley suddenly found himself on the floor, Angel standing over him, smiling slightly.

“Maybe you should stop it, Wesley. I know you can.” Angel suddenly frowned, and said quietly, sounding almost lost, “I can’t find you. Where are you?”

“Angel? I’m right here. What’s-” Wesley began to rise up, and winced as a sharp pain tore through his abdomen. 

“Ah…” Blood began to seep through his shirt, as his vision was overtaken by black.

 

Wesley bolted awake, clutching his stomach and gasping in pain. As he tried to calm himself, he felt all the memories of the dream coming back to him. 

In the dark, Wesley rolled onto his side as he began to heave- nothing came up. He dry-heaved for a moment, before calming himself once more.

“I-I…” it took Wesley a moment to figure out his gag must have fallen off. He grinned weakly, and tested his other bonds. They were still as tightly done as before, and Wes grimaced. He forced himself to sit up, and hugged his knees to himself again, tighter than before. He then began to try to call out.

“A-A… H-he…” His voice was hoarse, cracking at the usage, from lack of moisture. How long exactly have I been down here? How much longer until I die here?

Please, Angel, find me soon. I’m trying, I really am, but I need help… if he doesn’t find me, I may very well die. I know the demon needs six, and it must be very close…

 

Angel walked down the hall determinedly, pushing his senses to their limits. He strained to hear any trace of Wes, or even Keith. There was nothing, except a slight scuff every now and again, a scuff that was never there when Angel turned to look.

“Angel!” Derek suddenly called. Angel turned and started toward the man, who looked anxious. “Angel, we need to- mmpphhf!” Derek suddenly tripped and fell to the ground, and looked up. Angel himself froze, staring.

A demon was slowly coming out from the shadows, snarling deeply. Angel gaped as he belatedly realized he had no weapons handy. The demon began to advance on Derek, who lay on the floor, stunned temporarily.

“What is that?” Derek yelped. Angel ran to him, hauling him upright as he dragged him down the hall.

“Something you don’t want to face right now.” Angel replied. “Now run!” Angel shoved Derek ahead of him, turning to see the demon gaining on him. Angel stayed behind, fighting the demon as Derek ran on, knowing the vampire was just buying him time.

 

A few minutes later, Angel stumbled down the hall, searching for Derek as well now. He was relieved when suddenly Derek popped out of a niche, looking solemn.

“Thanks, Angel. A-are you okay?” Derek asked as he noticed Angel’s limp and cuts. Angel nodded, hanging back and hiding his grimace.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Demon was a bit stronger than I thought.” Derek nodded, wisely leaving it at that.

The two once more moved on, searching for Wesley and Keith. Then, Angel drew up short, and said quietly, “Wait a second.

“Back there, the demon. It had to come out of somewhere, right? I mean, it wasn’t just standing in the shadow, waiting for us, right?” Without waiting for a response, Angel turned around, and began walking briskly in the other direction. Derek hesitated a moment, then hurried to catch up.

Angel reached the area where he’d just fought the demon, and paused. He reached out and swiped aside a dark curtain that had been hidden in the shadow. He revealed a doorway, with a flickering light in the distance. “After you.”

Derek stepped through, and led the way. He held his hand out, and Angel recognized the chant as a stunning spell; Derek was preparing for anyone into the room up ahead. Angel began to stretch himself slightly, listening for anything up ahead, while watching the lighted doorway for any signs of motion.

Angel and Derek simultaneously burst through the door, needing no other communication for now except a few gestures and glances. As they burst through the doorframe, Derek called out a word in Latin, and the room flared into brilliance, light shining into every corner.

Angel looked around the room, trying to spot any threat, and there were no flashes of movement. As Derek looked around cautiously, a sudden clapping drew Angel’s attention to the door they’d just come through, and Angel stared.

“Bravo, bravo. I daresay it took you long enough, Mr. Lange. And Angel, as an investigator, I expected you to be more effective, especially with your… talents. But, you finally got here.” Angel glared, and Derek’s jaw dropped.

“Mr. Mills. Never saw this one coming,” Angel said observantly. Angel tensed slightly, prepared to make any move necessary to counter an attack from Mills. 

“No, I knew you wouldn’t. Simple-minded vampires… you just have to love them. And Mr. Lange… I never figured you for the slow one. I must say, you are a bit slower than I’d have expected, even with as few clues as I left.”

“Why are you doing this at your own resort?” Angel asked, his voice clipped as he discreetly eyed everything around him, to judge his position. Mills caught his gaze, however, and laughed.

“You really think to stop me?” Mills stepped back into the shadow quickly, and his laughter echoed around the chamber. “I have been planning this for years, and one-“ Mills’ voice was cut off as Derek finally unfroze, and whispered a harsh word. A spell slammed Mills back out into the room, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly shifted, so that Angel’s ears popped.

“You have no idea what you’re messing with, Mr. Lange. Game,” Mills’ hand flicked out, and Derek slumped as Mills’ power struck him, “Set, and match.”

Mills rose, and Angel kept watch, his gaze darting to the door. “What did you do with the people?”

“Don’t you mean Wesley? Oh, wait, no; you don’t care if you find him or not. You aren’t actually lovers- do you really think I’m that stupid?”

Angel chose that moment to slam his fist into the wandering man’s face, sending him back a few steps. “Yeah, I do. And I do want to find him.” 

Mills sputtered, then lunged back with a left cross of his own. Angel dodged, and kicked out. The two began to fight, as Derek moaned, coming around a few minutes later. He groggily opened his eyes, and shook off the remnants of the stunning spell Mills had hit him with. Derek raised himself up on one elbow, and rolled out of the way when Mills stumbled away from Angel.

“Honestly, how did you think this was going to end?” Mills said, sounding almost sad. He cast his gaze upward, and raised his right hand. As Angel and Derek watched, Mills began to change, morph almost, before their eyes. Mills grew taller, from about six feet to about fourteen, huge, strong, and… fluffy?

“Oh, great,” Angel griped. “I have to kill Fluffy the giant kitty.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
Okay, there we go. Review, please. ~Kay


	8. Part the Eighth

**_Part the Eighth_ **

“Oh, great,” Angel griped. “I have to kill Fluffy the giant kitty.”

“Fluffy the demonic kitty,” Derek remarked wryly. He looked like he wanted to laugh, but was politely restraining the urge to placate the demon (kitty!) as much as possible- everyone knows it’s harder to kill an angry demon.

As for Fluffy Mills, he snarled, and swiped a now-clawed hand at Angel, who rolled out of the way. Mills missed, his claw almost whistling through the air. Mills now did look like a fluffy little cat… well, assuming the cat had perhaps gotten in the way of radiation. His eyes were huge, the pupils like a bird’s, and his face resembled that of a cat that had run into a sliding glass door, only… more distorted, and with a definitely more purple hue. That, and the incisors were actually extremely sharp teeth that filled his mouth.

“Why, Angel,” the Mills-kitty rumbled. His voice now sounded more like a howl, crossed with the sound of thunder. “I have your friend, and other innocents… are you going to jeopardize them by killing me? Without me, you’ll never find them again.”

“I wouldn’t bet on that,” Angel said, and swung his fist into Mills’ face. As Mills turned to strike back, Angel caught a glimpse of Derek, who was motioning to a decorative sword on the wall. Derek wrenched it from the wall display, throwing the scabbard to the floor. Derek then threw it to Angel, spinning it.

Honestly, Angel thought idly, Who keeps a sword on the wall when they are trying to avoid being killed? He caught it by the hilt as Derek tossed it, then slipped out of the room.

Angel then turned back around to face the demon, as Derek fled. That coward…

 

Derek slipped from the room, and quickly ran out of the passageways, and took a deep breath. He exited into the restaurant, and tore through the lobby up the stairs, trying to move as quickly as possible to get what he was looking for. He continued sprinting to his and Keith’s rooms, on the second floor. Derek thanked whoever was looking out for them for the empty halls, and quickly opened the door.

He rummaged through his bags, and pulled out the one spell-book he never left without, and winced at the pain in his side. He impatiently shoved his fingers in his side to ease the pain, as he hurriedly tried to regain his breath to run back. He could be out of breath and relax later- he’d left Angel there alone to fight the demon- what if he needed Derek’s help? Quickly, Derek made a decision, clearing his mind.

Derek closed his eyes, and released a deep breath before starting a simple translocation spell. He felt the familiar tilting sensation he had whenever he did magic, and found himself back in the caverns. He stumbled, slightly off balance, as always, and looked across to Angel.

In the chamber, he found Angel sprawled on the floor, panting as Mills approached, kicking him across the room. The vampire definitely looked worse for the wear, and was bleeding from a wound in his chest- he looked like the sword had been stabbed through his torso…

“Angel, move!” Derek yelled, then focused on another spell. He closed his eyes briefly, and formed the mental picture he knew would bring about the incantation.

“Oneran lengard, nubium!” A sudden rush, and a shock wave shoved Mills back from Angel, who’d rolled away. Another wave followed, slamming Mills into the wall, holding him there. The strain from this was visible on Derek’s face, as the mage paled, and sweat began to lightly show on his face.

Angel came over to Derek- if he was surprised that Derek came back, he didn’t show it. Instead, he said, “Nice. Are you gonna be okay?”

“Angel, follow this. Find Keith and Wesley, then come back.” Derek focused for another moment, and a small globe of the same blue light Angel had seen earlier appeared. It danced indecisively for a moment, then darted toward the door. At the door, it paused for a moment, as if to say, ‘What are you waiting for?’ to the vampire. Angel hurried to the door and disappeared through it.

Angel followed the small light, feeling awkward- he’d seen this spell before, but couldn’t help feeling as if the thing was laughing at him. It bobbed up and down merrily, with a faint ebbing and pulsing of the light that resembled mocking laughter. He wove his way through the passages, and winced at the thought he’d left Derek alone with the demon-Mills. Yes, the man may be a mage, but there was no telling how strong either the demon or the man was magically speaking.

“Where are we going?” Angel grumbled a few minutes later. He was getting increasingly worried about the demon escaping, and the light seemed to have no intention of stopping, until-

“Okay, fine,” Angel said confusedly. The light had stopped abruptly in front of a wall, and Angel now stepped forward, and felt along the wall. His fingers found a small catch, and he dug into it and pulled. A hidden door fell open, and Angel watched as the little light darted eagerly inside. Angel glanced down the corridor he was in, and recognized it as a hall near the opening to the resort bar, before he followed once more.

In the next room, Angel found a figure slumped on the floor- Angel could hear the heartbeat, although it didn’t sound familiar. He went over to figure, and turned the figure to reveal a girl, whose face was covered with bruises, her lips swollen and dried with blood.

“Hey, are you okay? Wake up.” Angel said gently. He shook her, and the light threw itself almost angrily in front of his face. “Yeah, just a minute.”

The light flashed brightly in front of him, in a semblance of impatience, and Angel groaned. “Fine.” The girl wasn’t waking up anyway, so he rose, and carefully moved away from the unconscious girl.

If there’s six people down here, and they’re all hurt, we can’t carry all of them out of here… and what if Wes is hurt? Angel sped up, following the light through three other rooms, each with a single occupant, all of whom were also unconscious.

In the fifth room, Angel found Keith, finally. “Keith? That you?”

“Angel? What are you doing? And what the hell is that thing?” Angel knelt, and untied the human’s bonds.

“I’m here to help you. Derek sent me, and that, well, I don’t really know what it is.” Angel remembered that Keith didn’t know that Derek was a mage, so kept mum. “C’mon.”

“Der sent you? Where is he, who did this?”

“Keith, just follow me. Come on.” Angel helped the human to his feet as Keith faltered on his legs, which were asleep from lack of use in past few hours. Angel then went to the subsidiary door on the opposite wall. He pushed it open.

When Angel opened the door, he was struck by the coppery scent of blood. It took him a second to recognize Wesley’s blood, and Angel stiffened. “Wes?”

“Angel? Is Wesley down here too?” Keith asked, and Angel stifled the urge to retort sharply.

“Yeah. Wesley, you okay?” Angel stepped further into the room, and stopped dead still. The room was empty. He was too late.

 

When Angel finally led Keith back to the room, Derek was slumped on the floor, still conscious, but pale. Keith rushed to his side, and knelt by his lover.

“Der? What’s going on here? Are you okay?” Angel looked toward the wall where Mills had been pinned, to discover the demon was gone.

“Derek. What happened?” Angel went to the couple, where Derek was leaned against Keith’s chest, and Keith was gently stroking the mage’s blond hair.

“He did another… you know,” Derek said, with a quick glance at Keith, who seemed to be uncaring. “He said he’ll be waiting for you, and you know where he is.”

Angel stood up, his mind racing, before catching on something from a few days ago. The abandoned wing…

Angel began to leave, when Derek called out. “Angel.” The vampire turned, and went back over for a moment. “Take this. I’ll be up in a few minutes if I can.”

Angel accepted the spell-book, and walked out of the room quickly. A few moments later, he found himself in the wing that was closed off. He listened quietly, hearing nothing, until he heard a faint whimper. It was more than enough to tell him which room he needed to go into.

Angel went to the same door that Wesley had picked open earlier that week. He kicked it open, with a resounding crack. Inside, Angel found Mills, human again, sitting calmly on the bed. Wesley was tied up on the floor next to him, unconscious and obviously hurt.

“Wes! What did you do to him?”

“Hmm… obviously, this human is the way to get to you, Angel. Why pass up an opportunity?” Mills smirked, and Angel lunged. He grabbed the human by the throat, slamming him against the wall. Mills kicked Angel away, and the vampire flew across the room, hitting up hard against a bureau, back arching painfully around it.

Mills followed, but Angel kicked Mills’ legs out from under him even as Angel sprang to his own feet. Angel’s head whipped to the side when Mills swung out, and Angel staggered back a step, as he was connected with another punch. More punches rained on Angel, until the vampire finally raised an arm, blocking a strike, while lashing out with a left-right-left combination. Mills tried to regain his footing from the barrage, and Angel kicked him down. Mills stayed down, and Angel quickly kicked him in the side of the head to make sure he remained out.

Angel quickly went over to Wes, and knelt by his side. “Wesley? Hey, wake up.”

Wesley moaned, then began to open his eyes. As he saw Angel kneeling over him, his eyes widened in surprise. Angel smiled gently, then reached down to help Wes sit up, when his eyes suddenly widened, then darkened.

“A-An…” Wesley rasped, and Angel shot him a look.

“No, you’re hurt. Don’t talk.” Angel’s hand indicated Wesley’s stomach, and he suddenly looked toward Mills.

“Stay here. I’m going to take care of Mills, and I’ll be back.” Angel firmly commanded his friend, and yanked a pillow and blanket off the bed. He covered Wesley, who had begun shivering lightly, then put the pillow beneath his head.

"I'll be right back. Promise."

 

A few minutes later, down in the catacombs, Angel met Keith and Derek, pretty much where he’d left them. He threw Mills’ prone form down on the floor, and Keith looked at him.

“What are you doing? What’s going on here?” From the looks of it, Derek hadn’t told Keith anything in the time Angel was gone. Derek looked sad, and remained silent.

“Derek. What do you want to do with this, then?” Angel asked a few seconds later. “We can’t just leave him here.”

“Yeah. I’ll bind him here in a few seconds,” Derek replied. Keith looked utterly confused, almost like a small child.

“Der? What do you mean, ‘you’ll bind him’?” Derek pulled from Keith’s embrace, and stood. Angel watched as he wavered slightly, then gained his balance. The mage’s balance and color was a lot better than when Angel had left them, and Angel hoped he wasn’t too worn out to perform this spell.

Derek’s eyes closed, and a blue light began to glow gently around him, as the light he’d lit the room with before faded, leaving Derek as the only dim source of light. He spoke no words, instead just concentrating, until he finally motioned toward the fallen demon. The light around Derek began to dissipate, and Mills was motionless, signs of the binding taking effect.

All was taking effect as planned, until Keith, who up to now had been in confused silence, called out, “Derek? What the hell is this?”

At the sudden break in the silence, the mage jumped, and the fading light suddenly flared brightly, illuminating the room again. Angel whispered, “Oh, shit,” before it all went to hell.

When Derek lost control of the spell, the light around the mage abruptly went out, bathing the room in perfect darkness. Angel instinctively looked toward where the two humans were, and heard a low growl.

“Derek? What happened?” Keith asked, and no longer sounded confused, only coldly angry. “Are you involved with drugs or something?”

“No, Keith. Now, please be quiet.” A few seconds later, Derek muttered, “Oh, no.”

“What, you expecting something else to happen?” Mills’ voice came out of the darkness. Angel heard a scrape, and heard the human pull himself to his feet. “Thanks for the boost, Lange. I love this high…”

“You got him high?” Angel asked incredulously. Derek scoffed, and replied, “No. The spell, instead of binding him… did the opposite.”

Keith once more broke his silence, and demanded, “Derek. What is going on? TELL me.”

“Keith, not now.” Derek sounded strained, and Angel recognized the sound of someone being held by the chest when he heard it. The human’s breathing was becoming strained, and faltering. Angel moved into motion, toward the sounds.

“Yes, Derek, now. I want to know what is going on now.” Keith abruptly shut up as Angel pushed past him, moving toward Derek and Mills. Angel slammed into Mills, who was in demon form again from the feel of it, and had a claw wrapped around Derek’s torso.

Derek dropped to the floor, and rolled clear, as Angel dropped, rolled, and came back up with his sword from earlier. He shoved it into Mills’ side, sighing in relief as the demon screamed with pain.

Suddenly, the demon roared an archaic word, that Angel nor Derek recognized. Mills laughed as an eldritch light began to coalesce in front of him, in the form of a globe of light. Keith fell to the floor, and Derek pulled himself over to his partner.

“Keith? Keith, what’s happening?” Keith lay unresponsive, as Mills continued laughing.

“My ritual is complete! I am now-“ Mills cried out triumphantly, and Angel winced as he shrieked loudly as he remembered the sword in his side. Then, regaining his composure, Mills finished, more subdued, “Almost invincible. As soon as I drain the energy from the sacrifices… then.”


	9. Part the Ninth

_**Part the Ninth** _

 

Derek pulled himself to his feet, leaving Keith on the floor. The mage now looked murderously angry.

“What did you do?” Angel demanded. Mills laughed, then reached out to touch the globe in front of him. The globe began to absorb into Mills, until a bolt of energy struck the demon, temporarily throwing him back.

“Angel. Move.” Derek said calmly, though a look of fierce determination on his face betrayed his voice and attempt to seem reasonable. Another bolt of energy flew from the mage, fueled by anger and will power. Angel ducked, and watched as Mills began to stride toward Derek, determined to put him out of the game. Angel surged forward, and grabbed the sword still in Mills’ side, and wrenched it sideways, then out.

The sword was covered in blood, and Angel ignored it. Mills lunged for Angel, who danced out of the way, mirroring a technique he’d been taught before, where he stood still, allowed a blow to breeze past, before ducking, spinning, and knocking the demon to the floor. Angel stood, then moved to slam the sword into the demon’s head, when he suddenly froze. 

“No. This is mine to deal with, Angel.” Derek’s voice was emotionless, as he pounded the fallen demon with another burst of energy. The demon convulsed, and Angel shot Derek a look.

“This isn’t the way to do this Derek. Let me go.”

“Yes, Derek, let the vampire go. Then we can play some more,” Mills said maliciously, before a sudden responding burst of energy threw Angel backward, and Derek gasped.

“Now, let’s see…” Mills began to reach for the globe, which had stopped filling, and now just spun gently, the lazy spin belying the danger within. The globe had all the victim’s energies… _Wesley!_ Angel thought in horror. _Not again… I couldn’t protect him. Wes…_

Angel thrust aside the horror filling him, and focused on what needed to be done. The ritual wasn’t complete- he could still save Wes if he hurried, and Derek could dissemble the sphere. As long as Mills didn’t touch the sphere, the energies could still be returned.

Angel watched as Derek realized what it meant- and threw himself toward the globe. Angel took a millisecond to realize that Keith’s heart was silent, and knew that Derek knew. Angel threw himself forward, too, using his vampiric speed to its fullest extent. He hit Mills, throwing him away, as Derek pounded into the globe, and chanted very quickly. The globe exploded silently, giving a nova-like, quasar explosion. Energy flew from it, back to the sacrifices, and Angel sighed. Wesley was safe. 

Angel watched as Mills slid across the floor, before rising. Angel watched as Mills howled in inhuman rage. Derek lashed out with another spell, and Mills snorted as a gash finally appeared in his skin.

“Honestly, that’s supposed to stop me?” Mills laughed, approached Derek, and the mage used another spell, smiling in satisfaction as the spell the demon was working on failed, and the demon was-

“Powerless? You bound me?” Mills whispered disbelievingly. “You don’t have the power enough to bind my magic…”

“Never doubt a mage,” Angel said cheerfully, and Mills snarled at Angel. 

“Angel, he’s powerless now. Kill him,” Derek called out, his voice giving out to a tremble. Mills headed for Derek as the mage abruptly sat down, his last stand leaving him weakened further than before. 

All the magic he had been using had been fed of pure anger and will- and only so much could be given before having to use one’s life-force to keep working. Luckily, Derek recognized the signs, and refrained from further assistance. 

Mills was near Derek, when Angel suddenly commented, “Oh, that’s it. Big strong demon go for the weak, tired human first. Huh. Some mastermind you are.” Mills looked Angel’s way, beginning to reply, and Angel took the opportunity to hurl the sword into Mills’ throat, silencing the demon, as it fell to the floor.

“That's right, look toward the insult… don’t they ever learn?”

“Keith?” Derek was already at his partner’s side, shaking his shoulder. “C’mon, wake up.”

“Derek. He’s fine,” Angel said. “I can hear his heartbeat.” A pause, then Angel said, “Wes. I’m gonna go check on him.”

“What about Mills?” Derek asked distractedly, still trying to rouse Keith. There was no reply- Angel was already gone.

 

“Wesley!”

Angel burst into the room, and found Wesley where he’d left him on the floor. Angel knelt by his side, and listened to the reassuring sound of Wes’ heartbeat. Angel ran a gentle hand across Wesley’s forehead, careful not to wake him. After a few minutes, though, Wesley began to wake up.

“A-Angel?” Wesley whispered, when he saw Angel kneeling over him. “What’s going on?”

“Hey, Wesley. You alright?” Angel glanced at the man’s stomach, where he’d been bleeding before, and winced when he saw a deep gash, running from Wesley’s navel around his right side, the shirt covered in blood.

“I believe I’ll be quite all right. C-can we just get out of here?” Angel nodded, and, despite Wesley’s protests, began to scoop the mortal up and carry him. Wesley’s protests were stalled, however, when Angel gently leaned down and carefully kissed Wes.

Wesley mumbled against Angel’s lips for a second, then quieted, allowing Angel to kiss him, and sliding his tongue against Angel’s lips. Angel made a sound of surprise, and allowed Wesley to, opening his mouth.

When they parted about thirty seconds later, Angel hugged Wesley tightly for a second, then smiled.

“Glad I found you, Wes.”

“I’m actually rather glad myself,” Wesley joked lightly. Angel raised an eyebrow, surprised the man could still joke after all this, and looked at Wes.

“We still need to check on the others, and Derek and Keith. You up to it, or do you want me to take you back to the room?”

Wesley looked taken aback for a moment. “Derek and Keith? What happened, Angel?” Angel looked uncomfortable, and answered reluctantly.

“Keith… was also taken, Wes, and Derek helped me out. He’s a mage, and he helped me to defeat Mills.”

“Defeat… Mills?” Wesley looked even more confused, and Angel sighed.

“It’s a long story. Let’s just go check on them.” After checking to make sure it was okay, Angel helped Wesley to his feet, careful not to stretch his stomach too much. Angel slid an arm around Wesley’s waist, helping him to walk without hurting himself, and led him to the restaurant.

When Wesley saw the fallen away booth, he looked confused as he whispered, “What?”

Angel ignored him for now, leading him through the passage way through the now familiar tunnels to the antechamber. Wesley slowed Angel’s usual pace down, but the vampire didn’t mind: if anything, he held Wesley slightly closer and tighter. 

In the chamber, Angel found Derek standing alone in the center of the room. Keith was nowhere to be seen, and the mage looked at least ten years older than when Angel had left, weary and heart brokenly sad.

“Derek?” Angel asked softly. He and Wesley walked slowly over to the mage, and stopped a few feet away.

“Keith left.” Words so softly spoken, Angel almost doubted he’d heard them at all. “He couldn’t understand the magic, and wondered why I’d hidden it from him.” 

Exchanging a glance with Wesley, Angel made sure that Wesley had his balance, then gently pulled away. He approached Derek, and laid a cautious hand on the mage’s shoulder. Derek looked at him briefly, then nodded shortly.

“Hey, Wesley,” Derek said quietly. “You’re okay?”

“Yes, I’ll be all right.” Wesley said. “What all happened?” Angel and Derek exchanged sighs, then began to tell the whole story from the beginning.

When they had finished, Wesley, in the habit of Giles that made Angel smile nostalgically, took his glasses off and cleaned them. “And all this happened while I was out?”

Angel nodded, and Derek said, “Yeah. Before you came down, I set free the other hostages before Keith woke up. He… saw the magic, and…” A hiccup left Derek’s throat, and he laughed bitterly.

“And he wondered why I’d never told him? He didn’t like it, couldn’t understand. And it wasn’t as if he’d understand better if it hadn’t been under these circumstances.”

Wesley said carefully, “Some don’t exactly understand the supernatural, Derek. Our lives aren’t always understood, and when you change someone’s perception of reality and fake like that…” Wesley trailed off when Derek glared at him.

“Yeah, well, lucky you. You have a boyfriend who actually understands and accepts this. I…” Derek trailed off himself, and Angel winced.

“Let’s get out of here.” Slowly, the three left the room with the demon corpse on the floor, leaving behind all that had happened. Once in the restaurant, Derek sealed the entrance to the tunnels, and the three went to their rooms, preparing to pack up and leave.

In Derek’s room, Keith’s stuff was already packed and gone, leaving the mage’s strewn all over. Derek let one tear slip down his face, memories of his lover flickering through his mind, before he focused on packing.

 

A few hours later, at about eleven o’clock, Angel and Wesley arrived back at the office. Setting his and Wesley’s bags on the floor, Angel watched Wes limp his way gingerly to the door. Angel unlocked the door, and offered his hand to Wesley.

Wesley paused, allowing Angel to slip an arm around his waist and assist him in. Angel sat Wesley on a couch, then went to retrieve the bags at the door. Wesley sighed, relieved to be home… or at least, back at the office.

Angel brought in the bags, and broke the silence they’d been enveloped in since leaving the resort about an hour previously.

“So, Wes. Another case with no pay. Think Cordelia will forgive us?” Wesley smiled exhaustedly, and began to reply when Angel suddenly shushed him.

Angel moved quietly toward the stairs, and paused when Wesley tried to get up to follow him. The Watcher winced as he tried to rise, and Angel helped him instantly.

“We’re gonna have to get that looked at,” he said, glancing at Wes’s side. There was no fresh blood, but it still obviously hurt quite a bit.

“Let’s put this stuff downstairs,” Angel said quietly a few seconds later. He began to ease down the steps. Wesley was following carefully, aware that he may be injured, but was perfectly capable of moving on his own, without assistance, thank you very much. His side twinged, he hissed slightly, and began moving carefully. Perhaps not…

At the bottom of the steps, Angel paused, and again helped Wes down the remaining stairs, being careful to be gentle and quiet.

Angel moved ahead to the doorway to his living room, holding Wesley carefully, even as he guided them to the couch. Angel rooted through the medical bag again, searching for bandages, when Wesley hesitantly rested a hand on Angel’s back.

“Wes?” Angel asked, without looking up. No response. “Wesley?”

Angel sat up, and saw Wesley looking at him with an odd expression. Angel began to open his mouth, and Wesley whispered, “Shh. May I?”

Angel nodded, and Wesley leaned forward, looking decidedly nervous. Angel closed his eyes, and Wes moved in, placing his lips lightly over the vampire’s. The kiss was brief, and Angel opened his eyes, to see Wesley looking extremely nervous.

“Angel? Would it be… wrong… for me to say I enjoyed that?” In response, Angel gently pulled the human close, embracing him carefully because of his injury. He kissed Wesley, and let that do the talking for him: he’d never been much good with words, anyway. 

He felt Wesley’s hands come up and push themselves onto his shoulders, and Angel found himself on his back on the couch, Wesley laying on top of him. Angel’s hands slipped up to cradle the back of Wesley’s head, his tongue slipping into Wes’s warm mouth, starting to go deeper when

“ _Angel_?” Cordelia asked incredulously. Wesley gasped from running his side into Angel’s elbow, and Angel shot him an apologetic look.

Cordelia stood in the doorway, a guy behind her, his hands resting around her waist.

“Oh… my… gawd. Are you… making out… with _Wesley_?” The woman’s voice was shocked, and Angel grinned sheepishly, before realizing, “What are you doing in my apartment this late anyway?”

Cordelia flushed slightly, and her guest asked confusedly, “Cordelia, what are these two guys doing here? And… _his_ apartment? I thought…”

“Um… Dave, these are my co workers. Um… they aren’t sup _pos_ ed to _be_ here,” she said pointedly.

“I’m going to go, okay? You sort this out, about whose apartment this is, and call me sometime. I don’t appreciate being lied to, though… keep that in mind.” Dave left, sounding thoroughly unimpressed.

Cordelia turned to them, and said, “What is going on here? I mean, when you left, you could barely touch each other, and now…” She sighed in disgust.

“Well, at least you’re acting is WAY better. Unless you’re not acting… then, GROSS! And, how much did we get paid? I am going to need serious workman’s comp for therapy here,” She paused thoughtfully. “Does workman’s comp include therapy, or is that under healthcare?” 

Angel and Wesley just watched her silently. “Are you gonna tell her, or am I?” Angel asked quietly.

“You tell her,” Wesley said quietly, with a honest, yet mocking smirk. “I’m injured…”

Angel slightly swatted him, then began reluctantly, “Uh, Cordy… we have something to tell you…”

*El Fin*


End file.
